Sports

Franck Ribery has posted a heartfelt message to farewell Arturo Vidal as the Chile international nears a move from Bayern Munich to Barcelona.

Vidal, 31, has played alongside Ribery at Bayern since swapping Juventus for the Allianz Arena in 2015, the pair winning the Bundesliga in each of their three seasons together in Germany.

A deal has been agreed to between Barca and Bayern and Vidal is set to pull on the famous Blaugrana shirt next season, should he successfully complete a medical at Camp Nou.

And veteran French forward Ribery will miss the energetic midfielder in Bavaria this season. 

Hermano no sabes a que punto te voy a echar de menos! Para mi eres el mejor, un hombre de valores y principios. Estoy muy orgulloso de haber jugado a tu lado! Te des…

A change in formation follwoing Pep Guardiola s exit and a white lie from Xavi were factors in Cesc Fabregas leaving Barcelona for Chelsea in 2014.

A product of Barca s famed La Masia youth academy, Fabregas was plucked away by Arsenal before returning to Camp Nou in 2011 under Pep Guardiola.

The midfielder was chosen by Guardiola to aid the Catalan giants transition from a 4-3-3 to a 3-4-3 formation in order to make them more difficult to play against.

Fabregas was deployed in a free midfield role that often involved interchanging with star striker Lionel Messi, a position he relished.

What he [Guardiola] wanted to do is change formation. I think after three years playing at a fantastic level and winning many things, he felt the other teams were catch…

Ousmane Dembele is still like a child and needs guidance in order to fulfil his potential, according to former Barcelona team-mate Kevin-Prince Boateng.

Boateng spent the latter part of the 2018-19 season playing alongside Dembele at Camp Nou while on loan from Sassuolo and he opened up about the France international s temperament in an interview with Bild.

Dembele has earned a reputation for his poor timekeeping having been suspended for Barcelona s defeat to Real Betis last season after missing a training session and France coach Didier Deschamps publicly lambasted him, saying: I know about his excuses when he turns up late.

Barcelona stuck by the 22-year-old in the face of speculation that he might leave the club, for whom he scored eight goals in 29 LaLiga…

Former Turkey and Galatasaray defender Ahmet Calik has died in a car accident at the age of 27.

The news of his death was announced by Super Lig club Konyaspor, for whom Calik had been playing this season.

Calik joined Konyaspor from Galatasaray in 2020 and wore the number six shirt for the top-flight team.

Newspaper Hurriyet reported Calik s car came off the road between Ankara and Nigde.

Turkish media broadcast footage of a car said to have been the one driven by Calik, lying in a crumpled state in a field.

Konyaspor said: We are deeply saddened by the loss of our football player Ahmet Calık, who has won the love of our fans and our city since the first day he came to Konyaspor.

Condolences to all of us, especially to the family of o…

An irritated Thomas Tuchel insisted he does not have to try and understand Romelu Lukaku s reasons for saying he is unhappy at Chelsea.

In an interview with Sky Sport Italia conducted several weeks ago but aired on Thursday, Lukaku expressed dissatisfaction with life at Chelsea and spoke of his wish for a future move back to Inter, with whom he won the Serie A title last season.

Lukaku scored 24 times for Inter in Serie A in 2020-21 but has found the net on just five occasions in 13 Premier League games since joining the Blues for a second spell in August.

His second stint at Stamford Bridge has been blighted by an injury and a spell out with COVID-19, from which the Belgium forward has returned to find form in Chelsea s last two matches, playing a key role in a…

The first Clasico of the season between Barcelona and Real Madrid, originally scheduled for October 26, has been postponed amid political unrest in Catalonia, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has confirmed.

Violent scenes broke out in Barcelona after nine Catalan political leaders received long prison sentences for their roles in the region s 2017 referendum and subsequent unilateral declaration of independence.

A rally in Barcelona has been called by pro-independence politicians for October 26, the day Barca were due to host bitter rivals Madrid.

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Leonardo says Mauricio Pochettino has never asked to leave Paris Saint-Germain despite links to Manchester United.

Meanwhile, the PSG sporting director also suggested that signing injury-hit defender Sergio Ramos may have been a mistake .

Pochettino joined PSG in January 2021 and is likely to add this season s Ligue 1 title to the Coupe de France he won last campaign, with his star-studded side opening up a 15-point lead at the top of the table.

However, rumours have continually linked Pochettino to the Old Trafford hot-seat, which caretaker boss Ralf Rangnick is set to vacate at the end of this season, and the PSG coach is said to have long-term admirers within the United hierarchy.

United s football director John Murtough this week said that a t…

Federico Bernardeschi scored the winner for Juventus as the Serie A champions escaped with a 1-0 victory from an enthralling Serie A clash with Cagliari, while Paulo Dybala left the field in tears with a hamstring injury.

Bernardeschi touched home a squared Douglas Costa pass to claim the three points with 16 minutes remaining, despite the protestations of Cagliari who felt a free-kick should have been given for a Medhi Benatia elbow on Leonardo Pavoletti.

An action-packed first half saw Dybala strike the crossbar and Bernardeschi hit the post, before Benatia was ruled offside having appeared to put the visitors in front.

Pavoletti was a thorn in Juve s side throughout and brought the best out of Wojciech Szczesny on two separate occasions.

Dybala s matc…

At long last, after a 12-month delay and then so much uncertainty over the past few weeks, Copa America will start this weekend.

While the fact it is going ahead remains a bone of contention, with even Brazil players suggesting they are reluctantly playing it, Copa America is a tournament that rarely disappoints in terms of entertainment.

A bevvy of world-renowned stars such as Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi will be hoping to make the difference.

There will also be some less-familiar faces hoping to either establish themselves or introduce their names to a wider audience.

Stats Perform has identified seven players worth keeping an eye on over the next month.

Rodrigo de Paul, 27, central midfielder Argentina

Perhaps the odd one out he…

Steven Gerrard feels Liverpool s unexpected title challenge has been built on the foundations of a strong finish to last season.

Brendan Rodgers side sit top of the Premier League going into the last six games of the campaign, and know that a haul of 18 points from their final run of fixtures would give them a first top-flight crown since 1990.

Liverpool are on course to break the all-time Premier League record for goals in a season set by Chelsea, with 103, in 2009-10 having netted a remarkable 88 times in their 32 matches so far.

The Merseyside club have surged to the top of the table on the back of a run of eight straight league victories, and they have not lost since their 2-1 reverse at Chelsea on December 29.

Such form is in stark contrast to recent season…